Siskiyou County Volleyball: Bears upset Miners in 4 sets

Wednesday

Aug 28, 2013 at 9:38 AM

Bill ChoyDaily News Sports Editor

After winning a co-share of the Shasta Cascade League title last season and earning a playoff berth, it was obvious things were on the upswing for the Mount Shasta Lady Bears varsity volleyball team.The positive momentum continued in the Bear's season opener at home Tuesday night as Mount Shasta upset longtime Northern Section power Yreka in four sets 25-14, 25-22, 20-25, and 25-15.It was the first time in his eight years as the Miners head coach that Scott Eastman had lost to the Bears. It was the first time in her nine years as the Mount Shasta head coach that Greta Jones had a squad down Yreka."I thought our girls played very well," Jones said. "It's huge for us," adding that a victory like this is a great confidence builder for the team.The outcome was not the way Yreka, the co-champions of the Northern Athletic League last season, had hoped to open the season with. In 2012, the Miners made the Northern Section Division 4 title game for the second straight year and earned a state playoff volleyball berth."Mount Shasta played a good game," Eastman said. "We jut could not run our hitting attack consistently. We've got a lot of work to do but we'll bounce back."A positive, he said, was that 11 out of the 13 girls on the team were able to play and was glad to have the majority of the squad earn game experience.Jones was ecstatic with the way her team hit the ball and played consistently in all aspects of the game. She was especially pleased with how well her squad blocked on Tuesday night "They were unbelievable," she said. Jones commended her squad for the total team effort they displayed to earn the victory to open the season."It takes everyone to earn a win like this," she said.For Yreka, Ashley Ensminger had nine kills, while Justine Cota finished with eight kills.Jones did not have stats for her team as of press deadline.In the junior varsity volleyball game, the Lady Bears downed Yreka two sets to one, while the Mount Shasta freshman team earned the win two sets to none over the Lady Miners.On Thursday, the Miners are on the road at University Prep of Redding.On Saturday, Yreka hosts its annual Miner Mountain Blast Tournament starting at 8 a.m. and running all day.The varsity games are at Jackson Street School and the junior varsity games are at Yreka High.Mount Shasta is taking part as are fellow Siskiyou County teams Etna and Weed.Other squads competing the tournament are Rogue River, Phoenix, Liberty Christian, Hidden Valley, Henley, and Trinity.